Women In Brazilian Town Desperate For Suitors

Are you a male, single and can afford a trip to Brazil? If yes, a strikingly beautiful woman is waiting for you at Noiva de Cordeiro, located 60 kilometres east of Belo Horizonte. The town, which has a reputation for having stunningly beautiful women, does not have enough men to round. As a result, women in the town are appealing for potential spouses. But there is a catch: men need to be able to play by their rules.

These women have taken charge of every aspect of life from farming to town planning and even religion since their settlement was founded in the 1890s.

Those with husbands are made to work away from home and are only allowed to return at weekends to the region.

Sons are sent away when they reach 18 and no other men have been permitted to live in the remote town.

Nelma Fernandes, 23, admits it has now become an issue for women to find a future partner.

"Here, the only men we single girls meet are either married or related to us, everyone is a cousin. I haven't kissed a man for a long time," she said.

"We all dream of falling in love and getting married. But we like living here and don't want to have to leave the town to find a husband."

But she warns any men who are interested will have to adapt to their way of living.

"We'd like to get to know men who would leave their own lives and come to be a part of ours. But first they need to agree to do what we say and live according to our rules," she said.

Rosalee Fernandes, 49, said: "There are lots of things that women do better than men. Our town is prettier, more organised and far more harmonious than if men were in charge.

"When problems or disputes arise, we resolve them in a woman's way, trying to find consensus rather than conflict.

"We share everything, even the land we work on. Nobody competes with anyone here. It's all for one and one for all.

"The whole town came together recently to help buy a huge widescreen TV for our community centre so we can all watch soap operas together.and do each other's hair and nails."

Noiva do Cordeiro was founded by Maria Senhorinha de Lima and her family after she was thrown out of the Catholic church for being an "adulterer" when she left a man she had been forced to marry.